Device for detachably closing the open tops of plastic or like bags



' R. E. KOLB 1963 DEVICE FOR DETACHABLY CLOSING THE OPEN 3,112,857 TOPSOF PLA 0 OR LIKE BAGS Filed 10. 1961 INV EN TOR. zeaiflfi KOB BY W 1,3

WIT/955 6 1065!! 6, ray/J's- United States Patent 3,112,857 DEVICE FGRDETACHABLY CLOSING THE OPEN TQPS 0F 'PLASTTC 0R LIKE BAGS Robert E.Kolh, 365 Hazelwood St., St. Paul, Minn. Filed Aug. 10, 1961, Ser- No.130,504 2 Claims. (Cl. 229-62) This invention relates to a means forsealing the open end of bags and like, and more particularly to a bagsealing thimble that may be detachably screwed onto or ofI of the openend portion of the bag.

Much merchandise is now sold in bags and especially plastic bags. In somany instances, such as packaged food, the consumer will only use at agiven time a portion of the contents in the bag. This presents a problemof resealing the bag until again some of the contents are needed. Somepurchasers attempt to use a rubber band, or a clothespin. Such methodsof course are diffioult to apply, produce an untidy appearance and donot successfully hermetically seal the bag.

Therefore, the principal object of this invention is to provide a bagclosing member that may be easily screwed onto or off of the open endportion of a bag.

A further object of this invention is to provide a one unit bag closingdevice that has no moving parts.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a bag closingdevice that will successfully close a bag without leakage.

Still further objects of my invention are to provide a device fordetachably closing the open end of bags that is economical inmanufacture, durable in use and refined in appearance.

These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangements, andcombination, of the various parts of the device, whereby the objectscontemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth,specifically pointed out in my claims, and illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of my device.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional View taken on line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an ordinary bag with its open end portion bentback upon itself preparatory to the threading of my device thereon.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the bag and is the next step which consists incompressing or twisting the bag top to be received by my device.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a bag with my device screwed thereon,and

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the device taken on line 6-6 of FIG.2, and more fully illustrates its construction.

In these drawings I have used the numeral 10 to designate an ordinarybag such as a plastic bag. The open end portion of this bag isdesignated by the numeral 11.

My device is in the general shape of a hollow thimble and is generallydesignated by the numeral 13.

The outer surface of the thimble housing 13 has longitudinal fins 15 tofacilitate its manual rotation when it is screwed onto or off of thebag. The numeral 16 designates a flared skirt portion on the lower endof the thimble to facilitate the guiding of the bag into the thimbleportion. The inside wall of the thimble portion tapers 3,112,857Patented Dec. 3, 1963 inwardly as it extends upwardly to the inside topof the thimble, as shown in FIG. 2.

Formed on this inside wall of the thimble portion is an embossed spiralthread 17. The numeral 19 designates a downwardly extending roundedportion on the inside bottom of the cavity of the thimble. This portion19 is in the form of an inverted dome. The numeral 20 designates an airpassageway in the top portion of the device having one end communicatingwith the inside of the thimble just below the inverted dome 19 and itsother end communicating with the outside atmosphere.

To use my device it is merely necessary to bend the open top portion ofthe bag over, twist or fold it into a wadded condition, and then screwmy device onto it as shown in FIG. 5. As the device is screweddownwardly in the bag, the upper open end portion will become moretightly and tightly compressed due to the progressive reduction in thediameter of the inside cylindrical wall of the thimble. Eventually theinverted dome portion 19 will engage and compress the extreme top of thebag. This action, besides the lateral compressing of the bag topportion, will hermetically seal the bag. The air passageway 26 permitsthe escape of air in the thimble as the bag top moves upwardly in thethimble. To remove my device, it is merely necessary to unscrew it fromthe bag by manually rotating it in the opposite direction. As the bagtop moves from the device the air passageway 20 will permit air to passinto the inside top of the thimble. My device may be made of anysuitable material such as plastic, metal, glass, clay, wood or like.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of mydevice for detachably closing the open tops of plastic or like bagswithout departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, andit is my intention to cover by my claims, any modified forms ofstructure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonablyincluded within their scope.

I claim:

1. In a device for closing the open end portion of a bag, a closuremember having the shape of a thimble having an inside cylindrical walldecreasing in diameter as it extends toward the inside bottom of saidthimble portion, said wall having a passageway formed in the bottomthereof for the passage therethroulgh only of air, and a spiral screwthread formed on said inside wall.

2. In a device for closing the open end portion of a bag, a closuremember having a frustro-conioal shape with the small end closed and thelarge end open, said large end being flared, an inverted dome portiontor-med on the inside of said closed end, a spiral screw thread formedon the inside cylindrical wall of said closure member, and said domeportion having a passageway formed therein for the passage therethroughonly of air.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,663,463 Benbury et a1. Dec. 22, 1953 2,749,384 Scott June 5, 19562,772,323 Smith Nov. 27, 1956 2,951,273 Brenker Sept. 6, .1960

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,158,237 France Jan. 20, 1958

2. IN A DEVICE FOR CLOSING THE OPEN END PORTION OF A BAG, A CLOSUREMEMBER HAVING A FRUSTRO-CONICAL SHAPE WITH THE SMALL END CLOSED AND THELARGE END OPEN, SAID LARGE END BEING FLARED, AN INVERTED DOME PORTIONFORMED ON THE INSIDE OF SAID CLOSED END, A SPIRAL SCREW THREAD FORMED ONTHE INSIDE CYLINDRICAL WALL OF SAID CLOSURE MEMBER, AND SAID DOMEPORTION HAVING A PASSAGEWAY FORMED THEREIN FOR THE PASSAGE THERETHROUGHONLY OF AIR.